The forgotten project that could have saved America from drought

Ralph Parsons had a plan to divert water to parched Western states. One problem - an invasion of Canada.

Ralph Parsons, the wealthy founder of an international engineering firm, had a plan to end drought in Southern California – in 1961.

“The solution Parsons devised, a continental-scale plumbing project called the North American Water and Power Alliance, or NAWAPA, was never built, but it’s never quite gone away, either. Today it persists as a fantastical vision that could have been, and might in some form still be.”